You would have thought Labour would have little to worry about in
Oldham.

They have controlled the local authority for most of the last 20
years.

But the majority which they are defending in this election is not
huge.

Council history

1994:No Overall Control

1995: Lab

1996: Lab

1998: Lab

1999: Lab

Labour hold just 32 of the 60 council seats, an overall majority of
just four, and an 8% percent swing away from Labour is all it would take
for them to lose control.

That explains why the Liberal Democrat leader Charles
Kennedy made a point of visiting Oldham during the election campaign.

With 26 seats on the council, the Lib Dems are Labour's closest rivals, and they believe that in an area which displays all the symptoms of continuing
economic deprivation, Labour supporters have plenty of reason to feel
disillusioned with their party.

Three years into the Blair government, nearly a fifth of Oldham's population still depends on income support.

More than a quarter of the area's housing is in serious disrepair.

The death rate is higher than the national average. So too are the crime figures.

All of which makes the Lib Dems hope that Oldham voters might have had enough of New Labour, and might be looking for a change.